


There’s No Place Like Home (For The Holidays)

by seekrest



Series: Merry and Bright [9]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, College Student Peter Parker, Existential Angst, Happy Hogan is a Good Bro, Hurt Peter Parker, Light Angst, Medical Inaccuracies, Peter needs all the help he can get, Protective May Parker (Spider-Man), Protective Michelle Jones, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-18 07:30:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21890515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seekrest/pseuds/seekrest
Summary: Peter was halfway through his senior year at MIT, had a serious girlfriend that Tony already knew would become his wife someday, and an aunt and grumpy step-uncle that missed him just as much - if not more - than Tony did.Tony hadn’t ever been used to sharing in his life, much less having to wait around for the attention of anyone. But there had been a time when Tony had believed he’d never see Peter again, another moment when he’d been willing to risk it all with a snap of his fingers.Tony had waited five years for Peter. He could wait a few more days.
Relationships: Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Merry and Bright [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1559587
Comments: 30
Kudos: 232





	There’s No Place Like Home (For The Holidays)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hailingstars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hailingstars/gifts), [Grace_d](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grace_d/gifts), [friendlyneighborhoodsecretary](https://archiveofourown.org/users/friendlyneighborhoodsecretary/gifts).



> Merry Christmas to three of the loveliest people in the fandom! Hope you enjoy this little fam, the hurt/comfort and Tony stressing like he always does :)))

“Hey kid, when do you get out of school again?” 

Tony smiles at hearing Peter’s laugh on the other line, rolling his eyes as he waits for his answer.

“I’ll be back on the fourteenth, Tony. MJ and I are driving down together and she has a Friday final.”

“You know I could fly you kids out immediately after she gets out. Doesn’t even have to be private, I know Jones has her own thoughts about all that.” Tony waves his hand around to nothing, pacing the living room. 

“I can book you commercial. Economy. I’ll buy you a ticket with _Spirit,_ if it’ll get you here faster.”

Peter laughs harder now, the smile on Tony’s own face growing wider.

“I thought you wanted us to get there _alive_ , much less faster. We’ll be fine, MJ wants to have her car for the break anyway.”

Tony sighs, rolling his eyes even if Peter couldn’t see it as he says, “Fine, fine. If that’s the way you want to play it, I’ll see you Saturday.”

“I was thinking we’d come by Sunday actually?” Peter almost questions, Tony holding back the exasperation he so wanted to give.

“Kid, you’re killing me.” Tony knows he’s being petulant now, eager to see the kid but knowing this was also a part of growing up - blowing air out of his mouth as Peter continued.

“I miss you too.” Peter replies, the smile returning on Tony’s face. “But we got some last minute Christmas shopping to do and if we stop by the cabin then—“

“I get it, kid.” Tony says, understanding even if he hated it. “Don’t worry about it, we have the whole break.”

“We’ll be there Sunday, promise.” Peter says through the phone, a voice so affirming that it would almost make Tony laugh - wondering when the tables had turned and _he_ had become the one aching to be around the other.

But it was just how life unfolded and Tony knew it - even Morgan showing the first signs of prepubescent rebellion at ten years old.

Peter was halfway through his senior year at MIT, had a serious girlfriend that Tony already knew would become his wife someday, and an aunt and grumpy step-uncle that missed him just as much - if not more - than Tony did.

Tony hadn’t ever been used to sharing in his life, much less having to wait around for the attention of anyone. But Tony’s life had become more full and complex in a way that he knew would only continue as he got older.

There was a time when Tony had believed he’d never see Peter again, another moment when he’d been willing to risk it all with a snap of his fingers.

Tony had waited five years for Peter. He could wait a few more days.

“I’ll hold you to it, Pete.”

* * *

When Sunday finally came, Tony was almost vibrating with excitement - Morgan snickering as she watched him fuss in the kitchen.

“Peter’s not gonna care about the type of dip you have, dad. He’s an animal. MJ tells me he eats shit off the floor.”

Tony snaps and points a finger to her, a frown on his face even if his attention is diverted to the assortment of dips that he’d accumulated for this purpose.

“Don’t say shit. And since when do you and Jones talk?”

He sees her shrug her shoulders out of the corner of his eye, glancing up as she says, “She’s cool.”

Tony bites his tongue, remembering a time when Morgan hadn’t _always_ thought Michelle was cool. One of the dreams he’d had when Peter was gone was the thought of her and Peter getting along, the painful memories of those five years lost always lingering in the background.

When he’d introduced them, hours after Carol had taken the gauntlet and snapped her fingers without so much as a scratch, he’d been pleasantly surprised to see that they connected instantly - the nascent worry that she’d be jealous of him or he of her dissipating before Tony ever had the chance to really consider it as a possibility.

What he hadn’t expected was Michelle - as a concept much less as a person - and had been woefully unprepared for how to manage Morgan’s jealousy at how much time Peter spent with her. It came in spurts, the kind of subtle emotion that to anyone else would be unnoticeable. 

But Tony - a master in hiding how he truly felt - could pick up. 

It wasn’t a feeling he shared necessarily, though he had been just as wary of her as she had been of him when they first met. But they’d found enough of a common ground now, knowing that neither of them were leaving Peter’s life anytime soon. 

It wasn’t a trait of his that he’d hoped for her to inherit but whatever the case, he was glad that Morgan had seemingly gotten over whatever thoughts or feelings she originally had towards Michelle, bringing her attention back to her phone, texting someone as Tony organized the dips again.

“Pep, where’d you put those pita chips Michelle likes?” He yells out towards the back room, Pepper walking in with an exasperated smile on her face.

“Tony, _relax._ You’re making _me_ nervous.” She says as she walks towards him, glancing at the array of platters he has all over the counter. 

“You know May and Hap will be bringing some food too.” 

Tony nods almost dismissively before saying, “I know, I know. And before you say it, I double-checked, _Happy_ is the one who actually cooked the food but,” Tony sighs, bracing himself against the counter as Pepper looked on with a bemused look on her face.

“I just want everything to be perfect.” Tony says, grabbing the lighter from the drawer and lighting some candles he’d found in the cupboard, hoping it would add a little more festivity to the room. 

“It’ll be _fine_ , Tony. You’re acting like you haven’t done this countless times before.” 

He can hear the cars pulling into the driveway, Morgan shooting up excitedly as they both turn towards the door.

As Morgan leaps off the couch, Pepper smiling at him before walking after her - Tony can’t help but think that even if he had done this time and time again, that there was a sense of finality to this, a feeling he didn’t want to dwell on even if he knew it wasn’t true.

Peter had visited more often during the first few years of college, especially his first year - splitting time with May and Happy in the city and him, Pepper and Morgan on weekends. 

It’d been nice, in a way that Tony had come to rely on - thinking that the separation he’d thought he’d have to deal with about Peter going to MIT wouldn’t be so bad if he saw the kid so often.

But then the first semester gave way to the second, his next year visiting less and less until now - his final fall semester - and Tony hadn’t seen him aside from Thanksgiving, and even then only for a few hours since Peter had made the rounds with Michelle’s family. 

It was another reminder of him growing up, the slow integration into her family just as she had integrated into his. Tony organized the little platters as he smiled - the memory of Peter chattering about what traditions her own family had for the holiday reminding him that he should be thankful that Peter had so many people in his life that loved him. 

And he was, knowing from conversations with May that she felt what he did - if not even more so considering that she had been the one to raise him. 

But she knew as well as Tony did that Peter was only going to continue growing up and moving forward, knowing that even if he and Michelle made the move back to the city after graduation, that it wouldn’t be like it had been when Peter was in high school. 

There was a bittersweetness to it, relishing the fact that Peter _had_ the chance to get older and create his own life for himself paired with the existential feeling Tony couldn’t escape.

There was a time when Tony had mourned Peter for longer than he had ever known him. And even if it had been a little over five years since the world had been right again - since _Peter_ had come back - it still felt in a small way like he was losing him all over again. 

As the voices from outside start to get louder, Tony straightens his shoulders and puts on a smile, forcing out the idea for being as ridiculous as it was. 

Tony wasn’t going to lose Peter, in any capacity. 

But he was going to be the last one to hug him if he didn’t get a move on. 

* * *

Tony leaned back, arm extended over Pepper on the couch as he glanced around the room, smiling.

Morgan was on the recliner with Michelle, the two of them whispering to each other like they were planning some kind of scheme - Tony making a mental note to corner one or both of them later, though how effective that plan would actually be - he didn’t know. 

May and Hap were on the other side of him, in a similar position to him and Pepper, Happy focused on the movie playing on the television with May having fallen asleep, no doubt exhausted from her shift at the homeless shelter. 

The only one missing was Rhodes, wishing that he’d been able to fly in from DC for the weekend - even if Tony knew that he’d get the chance to see Peter on Christmas Day when he, May and Happy stopped by. 

Tony counted again then sat up slightly, Pepper looking at him curiously.

“Is everything okay?”

Tony nods, patting her thigh as he got up from the couch, moving towards the back. Peter had gone back there for a blanket or the bathroom, he hadn’t caught on to what it was at first.

But it’d been over twenty minutes now and while it could be perfectly explainable - there was something that nudged at Tony in the back of his mind to check on him.

“Just gonna go see what’s going on with the kid.”

He moves off the couch as quietly as he can, Michelle watching him as he did so - giving her a short nod as Morgan continued to chatter. The look on her face just confirmed that she had been curious about Peter’s absence too, something that just spurned him on further. 

Tony steps lightly down the hallway, listening for signs of any kind of food poisoning or anything else, chewing the inside of his cheek as he made his way back towards the bedroom Peter and Michelle were staying in. 

It was another reminder to Tony that Peter was an adult, in more ways than one - joking with Pepper that he should keep them in separate bedrooms even if he knew they lived together in Boston.

Peter had burned bright red anytime Tony had joked with him about it when Peter had just started dating Michelle and she’d made one of her first visits to the cabin, stammering and rubbing the back of his neck like the mortified teenager that he was. 

Now when Tony had mentioned it, Peter just laughed - rolling his eyes and nudging him with his elbow - almost like friends in a way that sent another pang of something through his heart. 

The transition from Mr. Stark to _Tony_ had been a welcome one, the transition from mentor to… whatever he was now he was still wrestling with, though not in the traditional sense. 

Peter hadn’t been the first he’d ever felt an affinity with but he was the first kid that he’d had any kind of lasting relationship with - thinking as much when he first held Morgan in his arms, how Peter - and the loss of him - had shown him what it meant to be a father long before he’d ever officially became one. 

But for as much as he considered himself like a father to Peter and knew without even having to say it that Peter felt the same, he didn’t feel _needed_ as much as he used to - not in the same way, trying to figure out how to be there for him when Peter seemed to have a relatively good handle on his life now.

May had said the feeling was normal, struggling with it herself - how to parent an adult when for Tony, he hadn’t had the same amount of time to be a parent to Peter to begin with. 

Yet it was that fatherly instinct that propelled him towards the backroom, a sense in the back of his mind that something was wrong - something that he had to protect Peter from, even if he couldn’t explain it. 

But just as he’s about to knock on the door to see if Peter’s okay, it swings wide open - Tony seeing Peter’s wide-eyed smile.

“Hey kid, you-- you doing okay?” Tony does a quick check over his person, Peter laughing at the action - recognizing it for what it is. 

He nods, looking a little more tired than Tony would like as he says, “Yeah, yeah, I’m good. I got a headache. Just needed some quiet.”

“You having sensory issues?” Tony asked, mind racing to figure out what the trigger could be - especially since it’d been years since Peter had had this particular issue only to stop when Peter shook his head, shrugging his shoulders.

“No it’s not-- not that.” Peter sighs, running a hand over his face. “Just tired, my head feels…” He gestures towards it vaguely before it settles by his side. 

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s post-finals stress or something. Just wanted to lay down for a second, see if some sleep would help.”

On the surface level, this was another indicator that Peter had grown up from the person he’d been when Tony met him - a flash of memories of hidden injuries and stubborn refusal to admit that he wasn’t okay running through his mind. 

It took a level of self-awareness on Peter’s part to give himself the space to relax or to consider what outside factors could be affecting how he’s feeling.

But there’s still a small voice in the back of his mind that says this isn’t it, Tony taking a deep breath as he tries to figure out how to express his concern without sounding paranoid.

Peter seems to be ahead of him, a tired smile on his face as he says, “I’m fine, Tony. Really. It’s just a headache.”

Tony stares at him for a beat before nodding again, gesturing towards the bathroom. “I can see if I got some Hulk-approved aspirin in there if you want, maybe take the edge off a little.”

Peter considers it before nodding again, Tony seeing the way Peter swallows as if the action had hurt a little more than he’d expected. “Yeah, yeah, that sounds great. Thanks.”

“No problem, kid.” Tony replies, moving towards the bathroom and opening the cabinet for the pills, thinking - almost hoping - to himself that he was just making something out of nothing. 

* * *

The feeling that he’s missing something doesn’t go away when he presses the pills in Peter’s hand or when Peter eventually rejoins them, joking with Morgan about sharing his girlfriend. 

It doesn’t go away when they finally eat dinner, nor when they play a game, seeing the way Peter rubs his eyes as if he’s irritated. 

“You alright kid?” 

The rest of the table is distracted as Happy moved his game piece to some property that Morgan owned, the squeals coming from her that reminded him that she was every Pepper’s daughter as she was his. 

But Peter just cleared his throat, taking a sip of his water as he nodded. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Just,” he coughs slightly, rubbing his temples as Michelle glances to him. “This headache’s still not going away.”

“Pete.” Michelle’s voice is so low that Tony can barely hear it, but he can see the tension in her jaw and the slight nod that Peter gives, almost feeling as if he’s seeing them have a conversation without words as he closes his eyes and leans closer to her. 

“I’m fine.” Peter answers her but Michelle’s eyes narrow, focusing in on him before glancing towards Tony. 

She seemed to be on the same page as he was, May catching Tony’s eye as he watched Morgan and Happy go back and forth.

Something was going on with Peter, even if he couldn’t even place what it was. And from the looks of it, he wasn’t the only one who suspected it. 

Peter clears his throat again, putting a smile on his face as he nods towards Morgan - ignoring the steady gazes of the three of them.

“Alright, whose turn is it next?”

* * *

It’s the middle of the night when he hears the scream, jolting himself awake so fast that he wonders if he ever fell asleep.

Pepper is woken up immediately by it too, Tony wrenching himself off the bed and heading towards the door - glancing to the hallway to see Morgan peeking her head out of her bedroom - the immediate relief that she was okay and the sharp rush of terror that someone else might not be flooding through him.

“What’s going on?” Her voice is so low that she sounds like she did when she was smaller, Tony wanting to rush towards her and tell her that it’s okay. 

But knowing that she’s alright just further confirms his suspicions that something else is wrong — that _someone_ else is in danger, trusting that Pepper would be behind him to comfort her as he made a beeline towards Peter and Michelle’s room. 

What he finds as soon as he enters the open door stops him in his tracks just for a second, his mind working in overdrive as he takes in the scene in front of him. 

Peter’s in the middle of the bed on his back, gasping - a horrifying wheezing sound that sends a chill down his spine. Michelle has her hands on his pulse, glancing up to May in terror as May tries to wake Peter up. 

“Peter, Peter honey, look at me. I need you to open your eyes okay.” 

Her words are enough to snap Tony back into focus, meeting Happy’s confused and terrified expression - one that he knows that is mirrored back at him.

“What happened?”

“I--I don’t--” Happy begins but then Michelle speaks, hearing the fear so clearly in her voice that it just sets Tony further on edge. 

“I woke up. I don’t-- I don’t know how, I just woke up and I heard him.” Michelle is stammering, something she never does - Tony feeling himself walk forward to where May is kneeled beside Peter’s bed.

“FRIDAY, call…” Tony’s mind fails him, Peter’s gasps as if he was drowning on dry land blocking out anything else. Bruce wasn’t a medical doctor. Cho was a life-saver - literally - but he wasn’t sure what she was up to at the exact moment, his own retirement as Iron Man and Peter’s antics being moved to Boston not giving him much reason to have her on-call as she usually was.

But the terror gripping Tony’s heart as Peter continued to struggle to breathe just told him that it didn’t even matter if Cho was ready and waiting. 

Whatever it was, whatever was going on - Peter could barely breathe. 

If they didn’t act fast, he wouldn’t be able to make the trip anywhere.

“FRIDAY, what’s going on? Scan him, tell me-- what can we do?” Tony feels helpless, in a way he hasn’t felt in years - when Peter disappeared right in front of his eyes. 

He can feel the spiral, pulling him downward - the terror of his worst nightmares coming to life, of something being wrong with Peter that he couldn’t help with. 

FRIDAY’s voice rings out, a beacon that he holds on to as she speaks. 

“Peter appears to be going into anaphylactic shock. I would advise the immediate administration of epinephrine.”

Peter’s wheezes suddenly stop, Michelle’s hands starting to shake as May looks frantically on - Tony’s own heart beating thunderously in his chest. 

“Peter? Peter? Look at me, sweetheart you need to breathe. You need to-- you need to breathe.” May’s voice echoes in the background but Tony feels like he has tunnel vision, the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach growing larger and larger - anchoring him in place even if everything in him is screaming to rush to Peter’s side.

He vaguely feels Happy rush past him, too focused on how unmoving Peter’s chest had been - the panic making him immovable as Michelle’s hands moved from the pulse point on his neck to his chest, his mind supplying that she was beginning chest compressions even if rationally he couldn’t understand why.

 _He was fine. Something was wrong. I knew something was wrong. He was fine._

It runs on a loop on his head, more aware when Happy rushed past him again and jammed something in Peter’s thigh - the act of it snapping something in Tony’s brain. 

“Kid? Kid, come on.” Tony whispers, watching in horrible silence as Michelle continues to do chest compression, bringing her mouth to his as she gives rescue breaths. 

It’s quiet - _too_ quiet - for a beat too long, enough that Tony can feel the darkness that he’d avoided for so long inching in the background, the pit in his stomach beginning to feel like the cavernous black hole that it had been in the first few moments after Peter had faded into nothing in his arms. 

The seconds pass but feel like hours - Tony having the presence of mind to wonder if it had all been for nothing, if Peter had lived and been brought back only to die for nothing - a blip of happiness before he’d be gone over something as innocuous as this. 

He doesn’t even get to think about what could’ve caused this, only feeling himself getting pulled under - moments away from collapsing under the weight of grief he’d shoved down for too long. 

But then Tony hears it, the most awful and beautiful sound he’s ever heard before. 

Peter wheezes once more, gasping for breath as his chest shudders - rushing forward until he’s right beside May, Happy hovering not far behind. 

“Kid?”

Peter doesn’t respond but he’s breathing - _he’s breathing_ \- and it’s enough to spurn Tony back into action, looking to Happy as he says, “Get the car running. FRI, see if you can get a medical team to the compound.”

May’s completely focused on Peter but it’s Michelle who sends him a thankful look, the crackle of fear written so clearly over her face that it makes Tony feel as if she understood what he was feeling completely.

Tony brings out a hand to Peter, his labored breathing anchoring him down again - the reminder that Peter was okay for now - even if they weren’t out of the woods yet. 

Tony shudders, the darkness fading away as he clears his throat, leaning forward and whispering, “We got you, kid. We got you.”

* * *

“I got taken out by a candle?” Peter croaks out, the crowded medbay room feeling stifling and filled with nervous energy as Tony folded his arms together.

“ _Almost_. Almost got taken out of a candle.” Tony puts a hand up when May shoots him a look. “What am I saying? Don’t joke about this yet, Pete.” 

Peter smiles, exhausted and almost apologetic as he gives a sideways glance to Michelle - Tony watching the two of them as they communicate again without saying a word, Peter sobering up as he nods. 

“Alright, too soon. But,” He sighs, May fiddling with the blanket over him as he says, “peppermint? _Really_?”

Tony lets out the smallest of laughs, if only to try and ease the tension in May’s shoulders or the frown on Michelle’s face - Happy coughing in disapproval.

The room was big enough but it still felt too small - the adrenaline winding down as they all tried to make sense of what had happened. 

“Not funny, Pete.” Happy mutters, Tony agreeing even if he could understand Peter’s bewilderment.

Tony hadn’t known what to make of it himself, the idea that Peter’s spider mutation had somehow manifested into a peppermint allergy some seven years after he’d gotten the bite. 

But from what Cho had said - Tony realizing later he should’ve guess that when it came to Peter that Cho would be the first one there - that her best guess was that it was just an adult-onset allergy of the spidery form, the candle that Tony had lit setting off a reaction that - had it not been for Happy’s quick response - could’ve been fatal.

The thought of that sobers Tony up again - that he had been the cause of this, that his own worry about making everything perfect for Peter could have resulted in him losing him once again, a second failure that he never would’ve recovered from. 

It was something he’d said as much to Pepper over the phone, calling to check on her and Morgan and to let them know Peter was going to be okay.

“Don’t blame yourself for this, Tony. He’s going to be okay. No one could’ve guessed this.” Pepper had said, Tony trying to believe her words even if he still felt wracked with guilt.

Tony wasn’t used to feeling helpless but he was intimately aware of what it felt like to be at fault - a dark and quiet part of his mind saying that this was the inevitable result of him thinking that he could ever have true peace in his life.

He shakes his head slightly, bringing his focus back to Peter - meeting his eyes.

He doesn’t say it but Tony can hear the words anyway, unfurling his arms and walking forward - Peter smiling as he does so.

 _I’m okay._ It’s so clear - so vivid Tony’s sure he’s said it, even if his mouth still hasn’t moved away from the tired smile on his face.

Tony knows it, swallowing down the guilt as he nods - Peter smiling even more so as he nods, tilting his head towards Michelle as he says, “So I guess we should return that box of candy canes we got huh?”

Peter deserves the hit on his shoulder that May gives and the groans and sighs that come from both Michelle and Happy.

But Tony just laughs, the sound only making Peter smile grow wider as he does so.

He sighs, feeling truly content in a way he hadn’t felt all week - maybe even in years. 

Peter was okay - growing up, changing, getting the chance to live a life Tony hadn’t even had the chance to really dream for him. 

And even better, Tony thought - Peter was surrounded by the people he loved and who loved him, the way they banded together proving to him that for as much as he loved Peter, he wasn’t the only one who feared for him.

Peter may not _need_ him in the way he used to but he still needed him - needed everyone in his family, looking out for him in a way that only they could. 

It wasn’t how it used to be and it never would return to that. But in a crowded room, filled with tension and fear and yet still overwhelming relief and love, he thought to himself that it was okay - if only because it gave them a chance to figure out a brand new future, together. 

Tony could live with that. 


End file.
